Questions tagged [nouns]
A noun is a word (other than a pronoun) used to identify people, places, or things, or to name a particular one of those.
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Why is November a proper noun but not thalamus?
Google says that it's because November is a specifically named 11th month of a year, while thalamus is a "general anatomical structure". But I can argue that thalamus is similarly a named ...
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Can "Accepted" Be Used as a Noun?
Background
On this ELL StackExchange site, when an answer is accepted, it is marked as "Accepted," as shown in the screenshot below. (You can also confirm this on each answerer's Activity ...
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“shack of a place”
"Ingrid had her arm around her. 'You are the saucepan warrior. And I think we need to mark your fearlessness, and our potentially groundbreaking findings, with a meal. A nice meal. And some vodka....
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Does the first word in the compound "earthquake" change depending on the planet?
Is an "earthquake" happening on another planet a "-quake" prefixed with the name of the planet, like venusquake, and does that take the initial capital (i.e. Venusquake)? Is there ...
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A weird problem with the part of speech in a clause
I'm working on Cambridge IELTS 19 Test 2, coming up with a strange problem with question 5 in the Reading Passage 1:
Smelting of iron ore with coke resulted in material that was better __________.
...
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How do you change a sentence with a subject that is a noun clause to a question form?
Example:
What he did shocked everyone.
Can I convert it to “ Did what he did shock everyone?”
Example 2:
What she said surprised everyone.
Can I convert it to “ Did what she said surprise everyone?...
Yitong Wang
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Compounding a quantifier with a noun
I am looking for a general rule that shows how to compound a quantifier (every, any, each) with a noun (body, thing, box).
I observed that all of the words must be formed with a unspecific quantifier, ...
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What's the difference between noun adjuncts and adjectives?
A noun adjunct is a noun adjectivally modyfing another noun (a coat pocket). Why don't we or dictionaries just recognise noun adjuncts as adjectives then? Why is 'coat' described as a noun, but 'mere' ...
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capitalization of a common noun
If you substitute a common noun for a proper noun, e.g., refer to a person as his/her title without using that person's name, do you capitalize a title that would normally be a common noun?
P.S. I ...
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Can noun phrases have only one word?
In Saad is now a grown man. I think that Saad is a noun phrase.
Can noun phrases have only one word?
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Is it Thailand's *the person's name* or Thai *the person's name*?
...and significantly surpasses that of his nearest competitor, Thailand's Weeraphon Wichuma, who managed a maximum of 346 kg.
Which is correct, "Thailand's Weeraphon Wichuma" or "Thai ...
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What does "I bought out the house" mean in this context?
In the movie "Rear Window" the main character is spending the last couple of weeks in his house because of his broken leg. His girlfriend visits his house and wears a very expensive dress. ...
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Clarification about Noun Phrase
The boy is playing.
A dog is barking.
In these two sentences are 'A boy' and 'The dog' Noun Phrases?
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Plural and uncountable nouns without articles
I am confused about a section describing the usage of uncountable and plural nouns without articles.
Can they both be about all of the things and things in general?
Or can they take only one function ...
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Why do we say "I love cake" but "I love cars"?
Why do some nouns need to be in the plural for that structure to work, while some are ok in the singular? E.g.: I love pizza, I love beef, etc.
I always thought it was a matter of countable x ...
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Number coordination in 'Apple iPhones are one of the must-have products'
I am wondering how easily a plural noun can be considered as a single group and thus replaced by 'it' or 'one', as in
'Apple iPhones are one of the must-have products'
https://youtu.be/U-ExazFOMqI?t=...
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What does "get a clear line on" mean?
In the book that I'm reading "The Girl Who Played With Fire" there is an investigation going on concerning a murder in Stockholm. There is a police inquiry about a person they suspect. The ...
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Including Prepositions in Abbreviations
Should (e.g.) "programming language of John Doe" be abbreviated as "PLJD" or "PLOJD"/"PLoJD"?
More generally asking, should abbreviations include nonnouns such ...
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Is the noun ‘ocean’ male, female or neuter?
It’s probably just me, but I can’t seem to find this in any public dictionary (…); is ‘ocean’ male, female, or neuter?
Like in:
I cannot swim this ocean, (her/his/its?) waters are too cold and deep.
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Try to get five times <the price you bought them at> vs <the amount you bought them for>
A1: You’ve got so many clothes. I’ve never seen you wearing some of
these.
B1: I’m going to sell a few items online soon.
A2: Knowing you, you’re going to try to get five times the price you bought ...
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Bare Singular Noun
A: Bigfoot's alive.
B: I do not think so.
https://youtu.be/gE7JDxebBfw?si=lrafsHkCpmE1lmE3
Why is a bare singular noun used here about bigfoot?
I think you would say, for example, "mammoths are ...
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What does this "singular" mean?
I saw these from an online dictionary, they are several meanings about the word "hand".
And from what have I known, nouns are classified into two kinds, the countable nouns and the ...
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Is the term "gaffer" used incorrectly and should "coordinator" be used instead?
This context comes from the movie "Once Upon a Time in Hollywood" It's a conversation between an actor Rick Dalton and his personal stunt double Cliff Booth who also doubles as his errand ...
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almost all in prison/apposition
A number of the gang members, almost all in prison, decided to stop their illegal activities.
A large number of the gang members, almost all in prison, decided to stop their illegal activities.
A ...
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Can I use the noun "scourge" in the sense of "punishment for a crime"?
I'm stuck with using the word "scourge" in the following context:
I'm writing a fantasy novel, and I need a name for a symbol which is burned into the skin of sorcerers as a means of ...
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Can an uncountable noun be preceded by "a"?
The following example is taken from the Collins dictionary for the noun "reach":
... a heavyweight who possesses a longer reach and more strength.
Which has the article "a" ...
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Is the 'a nice' in 'a nice to have' grammatical?
In this context, 'a nice' is used as a noun as 'a must':
Design’s role has moved from a nice to have to a must have to a differentiator
I wonder if the 'indefinite article + adjective' form can ...
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What does "ways" in "Canada ways" mean here?
This context comes from the movie "The Lighthouse". It's a conversation between two keepers of a lighthouse who work together. It
"What brings you to this rock, Ephraim Winslow? What ...
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When to use plural nouns and when not?
I am very confused about the use of articles and determiners. What I know:-
If we use a count noun, we have to use either an article or pluralize it.
For examples:
I need pen -> This is ...
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"She turns her head to look at him, play in her eyes."
(From A Terrible Kindness by Jo Browning Wroe, Part I, Aberfan, chapter 10)
William feels his spine against the cold wall, the floor bearing into his bony backside. He cklaps his shins, his body a ...
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Does "I saw a blue car and bus" mean "blue bus" or any coloured bus?
What is the outcome of any and every sentence in the following sentence format when the rules of English grammar is applied upon them.
sentence format <Noun Verb Determiner Adjective Noun ...
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Definite article with names of public buildings consisting of two words
I'll cite some excerpts from the textbook "English Grammar in Use."
"Names of important public buildings and institutions are often two words. The first word is the name of a place (e.g....
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Specific cases of the definite article
We have two examples of sentences.
Yes, I disconnect after work and do activities I enyoy.
Yes, I disconnect after work and do the activities I enjoy.
Can you please explain what is the difference ...
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Isn't a soloist someone who performs solo (not a solo)?
Oxford Learners Dictionary along with others defines "soloist" as:
soloist(noun):
a musician or singer who performs a solo.
"he appears as a concerto soloist with all the great British ...
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Do citation and reference both convey these same two senses in the context of books?
When you read a book there often is a little number at the end of some sentences (that are usually quotes/or information from other sources).
Most of the time at the end of the book there will be a ...
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What is the meaning of this definiton of "constitutional scholar"? [closed]
I stumbled on a definition of "constitutional scholar" on UrbanDictionary.com and I can't for the life of me understand it:
Someone who claims legal scholarship regarding the US ...
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Is the chart correct by using "recycling" and not "recycle"?
The chart uses recycling and not recycle. Is the legend correct? So, landfill and compost can be used as a noun but recycle cannot? Collins dictionary shows it can be used as a noun:
7. the act or ...
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What is the meaning of "yard" in "a yard across the street"?
This context comes from the book "To Kill A Mocking Bird" by Harper Lee.
It's the part of the book in which neighbors are fighting a fire that broke out in Miss Maudie's house.
"The men ...
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Can you use the word "bill" to as your friend to check what movies are being screened at the cinema? (What other words can you use?)
While looking for a definition for the word "bill" in another context I stumbled on this definition:
"bill" (noun):
"9. entertainment scheduled for presentation; program: a ...
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Difference between "cord" and "rope"
I wonder what is the difference between cord and rope? I looked it up on the internet but couldn't figure out what the difference is. The only thing I found out was that cord is thinner than rope
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What's "call" mean in "A call issued to party members in a lawmaking body to ensure attendance at a particular time."
One of the definitions for the headword "whip" in the American Heritage Dictionary 2016 edition is:
b. A call issued to party members in a lawmaking body to ensure attendance at a ...
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Funeral Rites vs. Funerary Rites
Are both of the following sentences correct?
The question then arises: what purpose do Hopi funeral rites serve?
He stilled, wondering how best to explain Kai funerary rites or ...
Thanks.
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What is the difference between "this is a beginning" and "this is beginning"?
This context comes from the movie "Se7en" by David Fincher.
In this movie, there is a scene in which Detective Somerset is explaining to his boss that the murder case they are investigating ...
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Question regarding using singular or plural nouns
Recently I have been puzzled by this question below:
There ___ a pen and two slices of cake.
Should I put "is" or "are" for the blank above? Some argued that "is" is ...
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When someone says "piece" can we be 100% sure that it's not a motion picture?
This is a part of the Wikipedia page about Stanley Kubrick. This paragraph describes various freelancing jobs Stanley did as a photographer after finishing highschool.
In 1948, he was sent to Portugal ...
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Cut off and cutoff/cut-off
From my understanding:
cut off is a verb and cutoff or cut-off is a noun.
Am I right? Or is the BBC right? Can "cut off" also be a noun?
I am confused because of the following sentences ...
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Possessive 's or just noun + noun?
I'm not a native speaker, and I got confused by some grammar point. I see phrases like 'noun + noun' with the first noun being an attributive more and more often. Sometimes in such cases it seems more ...
renyxa
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What part of speech is an “-ing” form at the very beginning of a sentence?
I have been reading this paper and the following sentence is quite confusing to me:
Hiking interest rates to get inflation under control when unemployment
is rising could push unemployment even ...
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Is 'two' a noun?
I've been taught that 'number words' are names for numbers, this implies they should be considered nouns, how come we can have phrases like:
'Two apples'
'One person'
'There are two of them'
Where '...
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Is the omission of "the" before "teacher/student" in the sentence "Knowledge is transmitted from teacher to student" correct?
In the sentence "Knowledge is transmitted from teacher to student.", I don't know why "teacher" and "student" are used without an article "the". It's difficult ...
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